Truck driver sentenced after almost killing govt contractor in head-on collision

A driver heading to the airport in Nelson was almost killed in a head-on collision by a truck whose driver had braked too hard in the rain, and lost control of the vehicle. Photo /123RF

Braking hard on a wet road while hauling a heavy load has cost a truck driver dearly, and almost cost the life of the man he smashed into.

The head of McDonald Contracting and Construction, Malcolm McDonald was today ordered to pay $10,000 in emotional harm reparation to Clifford Laird, who had not been expected to survive the accident caused by McDonald two years ago.

The extent of his injuries was so severe, including that almost every bone in his body was broken, that he was still suffering today.

The relationship between him and his wife was now best described as one between a “carer and a disabled person,” the Nelson District Court heard today.

McDonald, 61, was sentenced today on a charge he initially denied of careless driving causing injury.

Judge Chris Tuohy described what happened as being at the lower end of culpability, but one which had extremely serious consequences.

The head of civil construction firm, Malcolm McDonald was sentenced in the Nelson District Court today for an accident which almost took the life of a government contractor in 2021. Photo / Tracy Neal

McDonald told NZME outside court he was glad the episode in his life was now over, having spent some time thinking he had killed someone.

Laird was not in court today but told NMZE after sentencing there was little he wanted to say, other than it was a relief the court action was now over, as he continued to heal.

On a drizzly, dark morning on May 31, 2021, McDonald was driving on a section of State Highway 6 known as the Richmond Deviation. He had earlier travelled from Brightwater in his Isuzu Elf truck, to Tahunanui to load a 1.9-tonne front-end loader on to the tray of his truck.

He also attached a 900kg Suzuki utility vehicle to the back of his truck and set off on the return trip to Brightwater.

As McDonald made it back onto the highway, Laird who at the time was a senior analyst contracted to the Ministry of Transport, was heading the other way, en route to Nelson Airport.

It was 6.45am, still dark and light rain was falling.

McDonald failed to see the vehicles ahead of him had slowed due to congestion

He braked hard, but the truck didn’t have an automatic braking system (ABS). It veered across the centreline and into the path of Laird’s Skoda sedan.

Laird tried hard to avoid the collision he saw coming.

McDonald’s truck slammed into him and pushed Laird’s car backwards down an embankment before the two vehicles came to a stop with their front ends locked together.

The front of the Skoda was completely crushed, which left Laird trapped in the driver’s seat for up to 40 minutes before emergency services were able to cut him free.

McDonald was uninjured and able to get out of his truck.

By chance, a senior police officer was directly following Laird’s vehicle and saw the accident unfold at close range in front of her. Other police officers were quickly on the scene.

A victim impact statement read to the court today on Laird’s behalf described Laird and his family’s horror journey since.

Laird was rushed to Nelson Hospital’s intensive care unit before he was flown to Wellington Hospital with “terrible injuries”, including a fractured spine, fractures to all his ribs, pelvis, both thighs, one of his lower legs, both forearms, an elbow and a shoulder.

He remained in a coma for a week following the accident and underwent six emergency surgeries.

Laird was in Wellington’s ICU for four weeks and then the hospital’s orthopaedic ward for another four weeks before undergoing rehabilitation for a brain injury.

His wife said in her Victim Impact Statement, read on her behalf today, that she didn’t think he would survive the first four weeks.

“The time my husband was unconscious in ICU I had to be his voice while he was fighting for his life,” Laird’s wife said of the impact on the family.

Their daughter’s tertiary studies had been severely interrupted, and the couple, each self-employed, had lost a significant amount of income since the accident, which had also seriously compromised their retirement plans.

Laird, a once healthy and active hiker and cyclist, was still unable to walk months after the accident.

By November 2021 he’d spent a further two months in hospital and was able to walk a short distance aided by crutches.

With the help of specialist staff, Laird had made “huge efforts to get better”, but remained mentally traumatised.

“Our lives have been changed by this accident. I remain his caregiver, but we’re grateful for every step and for everyone who has helped us in this terrifying journey.

“Our relationship has drastically changed to that of a disabled person and a carer,” Laird’s wife said in her statement.

The family also expressed frustration at the time it had taken to get a resolution after the matter had gone to trial, at which Judge Tuohy eventually found McDonald guilty.

Laird and his family were also dismayed that McDonald had not approached them since the accident, nor offered an apology they felt would now be hollow.

McDonald’s lawyer Michael Vesty said it had not been because he hadn’t wanted to, but he believed that would not have been appropriate prior to trial.

Vesty said McDonald had also been willing to attend Restorative Justice following the court’s decision, but that Laird had not accepted this offer.

Judge Tuohy challenged statements that it would not have been appropriate for McDonald to contact Laird before the trial. Laird couldn’t have been a witness as he had not remembered anything of the accident.

Judge Tuohy conceded it was more likely the result of a gap in communication that contact between the parties hadn’t occurred.

He said in reaching his decision that the crucial factual issue was around the cause or causes of McDonald losing control of his vehicle.

He was satisfied that it was a direct result of the wheels on the truck locking due to the harsh braking.

Judge Tuohy recognised that because of the worn condition of the wheel tracks on the road combined with the rainwater that was lying on it, the road surface was slippery so less braking force would be necessary to cause the wheels to lock up than if the road had been dry.

But, a prudent driver would not only have reduced speed earlier but would not have applied the brakes with such force that the wheels locked.

A prudent driver would also have been aware of the loads being carried and would have allowed ample space and time to brake more gently.

Judge Tuohy acknowledged McDonald’s lack of any prior offending over a lifetime of driving extensive distances, his role as an employer and his volunteer work in the community.

He said penalties for causing death or severe injury were a difficult task for the court because no sentence could ever remedy the suffering, pain and loss of quality of life for the victim and those close to them.

He said the court’s primary consideration was the culpability of the defendant, rather than the consequences which sometimes left victims feeling undervalued.

“Sometimes this is hard for victims to understand,” he said.

Judge Tuohy said in this case the degree of carelessness involved could not be considered “gross negligence” – McDonald had not been speeding, he hadn’t been drinking and he was not overtaking another vehicle.

It was momentary inattention which had a drastic outcome.

Judge Tuohy also highlighted the court’s constraints in ordering reparation for the loss of income, which was a matter for ACC.

Because McDonald had offered to increase an emotional harm payment to $10,000 he was ordered to pay that amount, and in the circumstance, no fine was imposed.

McDonald was also disqualified from driving for a minimum period of six months.